Soldiers of Fate
by ClockWorkNight
Summary: When Gallia is suddenly attacked from an unknown aggressor, Ander Ulmenholz suddenly finds himself tossed right into the middle of the chaos. When Robin and the Shepherds suddenly hear news of a new force, seeemingly from another world they find themselves at the centre of a struggle for peace. Both worlds however different, have found their fates forever changed.
1. Chapter 1: And so fate was rewritten

_"_ _There comes a time when the fate of thousands is changed in the space of a moment, certainty suddenly disappears and the future suddenly becomes clouded. I should know I was there in the mist of one of those moments. It's certainly one of the most frightening experiences one can go through; they come without any sort of warning and rob you of all sense of security and control._

 _Gallia was at peace, or close to it. The Imperials had been driven out and reeling from a federation counter attack, and the civil war was behind us for the most part. The nation was still on alert, after all the federation had attempted to take our country from us, though from what I understood the Federation public didn't react well when they discovered that their government had supported a faction which actively pursued genocide._

 _Yet as we rebuilt, dark forces began to stir, and everything we knew changed."_

 _-An extract from the memoirs of 2nd Lieutenant Ander Ulmenholz_

* * *

Plegia

Aversa and Gangrel regarded the mage in front of them with interest. He wasn't too different from the dark mages that were often found in Plegia's lands. He wore dark red robes, trimmed with silver, his head was cleanly shaven. Aversa had once remarked that if it reflected the light any brighter, it could be considered a second moon. His eyes were a deep violet, like the intricate writhing tattoos that covered his face

There was no doubt that Zarik was a clever man, clever enough to understand that you shouldn't bother the king of Plegia unless it was worth risking angering him.

Sufficient to say that he had Gangrel's undivided attention and Aversa's interest. After he finished his explanation Gangrel leaned forwards on his throne. "So as I understand you have discovered a new mineral, one which can enhance one's magic greatly."

Zarik smiled. "Indeed, this 'Storm Iron', I call it, theoretically it has the potential to allow spellcasters of any skill level to conjure spells which can eclipse those found tomes." He explained before a hand slipped into his robes, before producing a shard of blue glowing rock. Aversa's eyes followed it intently, like a cat following a small rodent it had never seen before.

"But allow me to demonstrate." He said as he held the the shard of Storm Iron in front of him. The arcane glyphs that helped humans channel magic materialised around the dark mage, yet instead of glowing yellow they glowed a brilliant white. Suddenly a roaring pillar of fire manafested between him and the spectating royals. When it died down the Plegian king was grinning.

"With enough of this in our hands, Yissle will be on it's knees, begging to us to forget our little disagreement; offering every pitiful concession for peace." The king's eyes were filled with glee now that his victory was not only possible, but probable. Revenge and victory might smell like burnt carpet, but to Gangrel it was as sweet as anything. However Aversa knew that there was a catch.

"How do we obtain more of this vaunted mineral?" She questioned. Zarik sighed as he pocketed the Storm Iron, confirming her suspicions.

"The little I found was located in the Grey Valley." He stated, the grey valley was a small valley located near the inland sea and worryingly close to Regna Ferox, however the valley's narrow pathways meant that moving any army of significant size extremely difficult, no to mention that they would be at the least opportune area when they came out, but it was easy to defend in theory. However it's isolated nature meant that it was difficult to keep a fort there supplied, though the Ylissians attempted to do so at one point it was since long abandoned.

"Full scale mining operation there is ill advised and wouldn't yield a large amount, but I discovered a portal to another land, and I after using a enhanced version of the drowsing spell I used to locate the sample in the grey valley, I have reason to believe that it's rich with Storm Iron." Zarik stated.

The king paused for a moment for he gave the order. "Get me more Storm Iron, weather this new land wants to surrender it, or not."

Zarik smiled. He would do so, but not for Plegia.

For Grima he would retrieve the Storm Iron.

* * *

Gallia

Ander yawned, he had felt like he had forgotten what peaceful was, but now he was back in his home town of Straban, he now remembered.

He was a fairly average Galian young man, short but messy dark brown hair covered his head, his eyes were a fetching shade of hazel and his complexion was sharp and elegant. Cloths wise he wore simple blue trousers, a plain green shirt and a simple brown jacket, his dog tags stuffed underneath his shirt. It felt nice to be out of the uniform for once. That being said he often woke up not knowing what to do with the spare time he now had.

He reminded himself how lucky he was to receive leave time in the first place, even though the Imperial Alliance's forces had seemingly given up on taking Galia, there were still threats to the nation's security thanks to the remnants of the so-called Gallian Revolutionary Army who had refused to surrender unlike the majority of their comrades (how you could call yourself 'Revolutionary' when you're ideals outdated was a mystery to him).

Of course he wasn't just here to enjoy fresh air and walk down cobbled streets, his younger sister, Maria, had been taken ill. While in the doctor had expressed in his letter that her sickness was thankfully not life threatening, it could potentially have life changing consequences. As a result Ander had asked for leave time so that he could check on Maria and Gran.

He stopped when he heard irregular footsteps before turning around. He spun round to see to see, much to his annoyance and his surprise, Maria.

His 15 year old sister was certainly recognisable as being related to him, despite being noticeably shorter than him, with the same shade of brown hair as him and the same hazel eyes. She was dressed in a long white dress and wore simple slip on shoes. She looked decidedly pale, to the point where he wasn't completely sure if the dress was paler than her skin.

He sighed, somewhat annoyed. "Maria, you're not well enough, you need your bed rest." He said, exasperated.

"I'm fine." She replied quietly swaying slightly. Ander steadied his sister before speaking in a decisive tone. One that clearly stated that his word was final, no matter what protests Maria offered.

"While I do admire your determination, in this state your only going to hurt yourself. Now let's get you back to Gran then we'll sort out breakfast. Okay?"

The younger Ulmenholz, didn't say anything and let herself be led back to her home. She knew that it was an exercise in futility to argue with her brother, besides chances are they would be having pancakes for breakfast.

* * *

Ergrat rolled his shoulders as he as he awaited for the mage to complete his little ritual.

The commander was clearly a warrior, dressed in undectorated plate armour wearing a red cape with his reliable blade at his side. With a thick mane of blond hair and a beard it was no wonder he was often likened to a lion, and that was before you factored in his brutal way of fighting.

Of course he was not a commander of Plegia's forces because of his brute strength. His strategy were straight forward but effective, he knew that warfare was about ensuring that the enemy broke first and he knew how to spot a weak point and he knew how to exploit one so that his foes would break before him. His straight forward merciless approach to battle made him a favourite of Gangrel.

However his love of efficiency put him at odds with Zarik, he knew that the mage liked to pursue his own goals over other objectives. Ergrat suspected that Zarik wasn't as loyal to the king as he said he was, in fact he wasn't sure Aversa was completely loyal as well. Still he could put them to the blade later should they turn against his king. Right now the situation demanded that he wait for Zarik to complete his work so that he could move the rest of his forces over to this land. Gangrel had transferred some forces that were going to be used for the ambush of the Exalt over to securing the Storm Iron, if that didn't cement how important Zarik's incursion was to Gangrel, then nothing would.

As he waited he looked at the surroundings of this new land. They were surrounded by grassy fields which seemed to be flat, a few clusters of flowers dotted the field, like spots of paint on a green canvas. A way beyond was a small town. Surprisingly it had no walls and only one major vantage point, if you counted the windmill nearby.

Such a poorly defended town would be the perfect place to establish a foothold.

Suddenly purple light shone behind him, he smiled.

This land would tremble before Plegia's might.

* * *

Ander lingered around the market as he waited for the stalls to open. Despite having to escort Maria back home, he was still early and the various vendors were still setting up there stalls ready for market day.

While Ander had undoubtedly felt at ease in the barracks, Straban held a special place in his heart. To him it was everything he sought to protect. Straban was a small market town situated close to the heart of Gallia. Peaceful but it still held a certain energy, it was often dubbed 'the hidden gem of Gallia' and people from almost all walks of life rubbed shoulders.

During the Imperial Alliance's invasion they had mostly bypassed it, though when they did attempt to march through the town to join the forces that would attack Randgriz they found themselves ambushed by stubborn Millita. Despite being let off lightly during the invasion it hadn't been spared during the civil war and the scars of GRA attacks could still be seen, with some buildings still covered in scaffolding and floral tributes for fallen soldiers and civilian victims were found at many street corners. Yet Straban stood strong against all odds.

"Hey Ander."

He looked up to see a woman, a year or two his senior standing before him as well as a man a little younger than him. Both had short grey hair and brown eyes. Both wore Galian military uniform, vehicle crew uniform to be exact, the woman was the rank of Sargent as indicated by her badge and also carried a pair of binoculars in a case slung around her shoulder while the man was a corporal.

Ander smiled, he knew these two. Cathrine Weisswald and Kallum Zackary, he had trained alongside before they were transferred to another division and saw brief action together sometime afterwards during the civil war.

Cathrine had the bad habit of being a pessimist, often expecting the worst, which honestly wasn't the worst trait someone could have until you realised that it impacted her abilities. However she was an exemplary light tank commander and during the conflict with the GRA she was able to knock out a heavy tank B, after a bit of motivation, luck and fancy driving from Kallum.

Kallum meanwhile was the quiet type, rarely speaking and just getting on with the job at hand. His rather creative use of the handbrake, as well as some excellent coordination with Cathrine, had greatly aided the two, though they were also a nightmare for the maintenance crew who had to replace the tracks after their stunts.

"Hey Cath, hey Kallum, you two doing alright?"

Catherine nodded as she rested her arms behind her head. "Yup, we're finishing helping refitting a tank so that it fits in with the new standards laid out by the new maintenance plan."

"That and training the new crew." Kallum added.

"Yup. The sooner they're ready, the better. I have no doubt that we're going to see trouble sooner rather than later." Catherine finished in a matter-of-factly tone of voice. Promoting Ander to raise an eyebrow.

"You know it's not a healthy attitude." He chided, folding his arms and leaning to the side a bit. "I know that 'hope for the best, but prepare for the worst' are the words I live by, but looking at the horizon and- what the hell?"

A bright violet light glowed somewhere on the distant hills beyond the town. Already a crowd was gathering at the edge of the town, with more and more being drawn towards it like moths to a candle. Already there were questioning mutters as they looked on. The trio of soldiers slowly approached the crowd themselves to catch sight of the strange phenomenon and were able to get to the front of the crowd

"That isn't a flare." Ander muttered, Catherine rolled her eyes in response.

"Thank you for that brilliant insight, Staff Sargent Obvious." The tank officer muttered as she began to pull out her binoculars.

The glow began to take shape, for lack of a better term, it began to form something akin to a frame which, in turn seemed to take the form of an archway. Then slowly the frame filled in with rock and iron. The crowd watched in astonishment as the archway materialised, before long it looked like it had always been there. In the middle seemed to be a dark void with a single prick of light.

Then men began to walk out of the archway and assemble in formation. Many were armoured and carried a collection spears, axes and swords while others carried bows and quivers full of arrows while a few road dragon like creatures the size of horses and swooped through the air while a few wore robes.

Fear permeated the air before the ringing of an alarm bells sounded out.

"All civilians! Please prepare to evacuate! This is not a drill!"

The crowd hurriedly began to move to the evacuation zones as the town watch began to mobile en-mass. Orders were shouted as they got into position.

"You there! Fortify 2nd street!"

"Contact the military! Tell them that we are under attack and that we we need re-enforcements!"

"That's our cue to get the tank ready." Cathrine muttered before she tapped Kallum's shoulder before the two ran off, preparing their own contribution to the defence.

Ander looked at the gathering unknown enemy force. His home had been attacked once and he hadn't been there.

He clenched his fists as he walked towards one of the town watch soldiers. A captain with a impressive grey beard known as Zackary, a veteran.

"Sir! My name is Staff Sargent Ander Ulmenholz." He announced, standing to attention. "I would like to aid in the defence of my home!"

Zackary looked at him, even though he had only recently 'came out of retirement' (he was still close to his physical prime despite looking otherwise) to lead the town watch. Yet he knew that Ander was a professional soldier since he had helped him enlist. "Ander? I should have guessed you would volunteer despite being on leave." He smiled slightly.

"Go to the town watch base and tell them that I sent you and that you've volunteered, they'll give you a spare rifle."

* * *

Zarik couldn't help but smile like the cat that had caught the dove as the Plegian forces prepared for the coming battle. Everything was going according to plan, his plan. Oh, if he could see the look on Validar's face if he saw the fruits of his labour.

His smile disappeared, Validar was the whole reason why he was here. His failure to kill the Exalt had cost the Grimaleal many of their finest agents, worse still was the fact that the surviving spies and assassins were now in jeopardy, it would only be a matter of time before the Yissleans flushed them out.

Why Validar was still alive was a mystery to him. Though he claimed that he was saved by the fell dragon so he could carry out his wishes and herald in his rebirth, Zarik knew that this wasn't the case, he knew that either the brat's blade had either been off, or Grima had allowed him to live so he could suffer his humiliating defeat. In Zarik's eyes Validar's lineage was at its end and the Grimleal needed a new leader.

So when Gangrel gave his permission to claim the Storm Iron for Plegia, he decided to use the opportunity to prove that he was the better leader. Using a few favours he manage to secretly divert some of the wyvern riders from the mission to capture Emmeryn to his cause. By doing this he had not only bolstered his forces but also sabotaged the mission, dooming it to failure, sure they might kill some Pegasus Knights but the Exalt would escape. It helped that Ergrat believed his cover story that Gangrel had sent them.

Of course he had been careful, heads would roll for the 'breakdown in communications', but not his. He would ensure that his loose ends would be tied up nicely while the last few threats to him would be gone.

He looked at the Storm Iron in his hand, it was only glowing dimly after stabilising the gateway, yet considering that this was only a shard and it had allowed him to do something which would have required dozens skilled mages, it had certainly proved its value.

His smile returned when he heard the roar of the Wyverns, the vanguard of the force, as they prepared there assault. Now it was only a matter of time...

* * *

Ander ran down the cobbled road, silently thanking his training officer for putting him through torturous physical training.

Before long he reached the town watch base. It was a fairly unremarkable building at first glance, with whitewashed stone and clay tiled roofing, if it wasn't for the sign with the town watch insignia Ander might have missed it. When he arrived there was already a large gathering of Town watch members hurriedly gearing themselves up for the battle before organising themselves into squads.

He made haste towards a woman in town watch uniform handing out weaponry to various town watch members. Loose blonde hair from beneath her helmet. Blue eyes regarded Ander with a piercing gaze.

"Let me guess, a volunteer." It was less of a guess more of a statement. He nodded as the woman handed an old sub machine gun to a town watch soldier.

Ander nodded. "Yes, I was sent by the captain, I was visiting on leave."

The woman sighed before she handed him a Galia-6 rifle and several spare clips. "Head to the old farm house on the north east side of town and reinforce the squad there." She ordered, giving him a small Ragnaid canister. "And for the love of everything holy don't feel you have to play the hero! I know you're a soldier but you no one's a hero just because they died or a coward for choosing to live, got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" He answered quickly before he turned and began to run down the road. He knew that the town watch soldier was correct, but if today was his day to die, then it was his day to die. He needed to protect his home.

Yes he was a stubborn bastard, but right now that wasn't what mattered.

Suddenly a shrieking roar sounded right above him as one of the dragon riders suddenly swooped down towards him, viscous talons outstretched as the masked rider upon its back raised his viscous looking axe in his right hand.

Acting on instinct, Ander threw himself leftwards, a powerful gust of wind from the beast's leathery wings whipped against his back, he could have sworn that he felt the dragon's claws narrowly miss his shoulder. He felt the cold, lumpy cobble stones as he curled up his body, slamming into the road before he rolled to a kneeling position.

The rider, obviously realising that the narrow street prevented him from wheeling round to have another attempt at striking Ander, and was now hurtling towards the squad of town watch soldiers.

He drew his rifle to his shoulder and yelled out at the top of his voice.

"INCOMING!"

Whether the warning was necessary was debatable, Ander was so caught up on trying to line up a good shot on the dragon riding aggressor he wasn't quite sure whether if his comrades had seen the threat. What was important was the town watch had begun to bring their guns to bear and that the dragon rider realised that he was in serious danger.

The dragon rider pulled up at the last moment, it's claws lashed against an unfortunate soldier, ripping through their coat and staining it red. However their comrades retaliated as he attempted to escape, the air was suddenly rent with the sharp cracking sound of gunshots.

The rider was able to jinx out of the way of the initial barrage of rifle fire, while Ander struggled to line up a shot, however their luck ran out when the soldier who had been given a SMG opened fire. The volley of rounds made short work of the rider's leather armour and the dragon's tough hide. The dragon sailed over the soldiers and the crashed into the street, dead along with it's rider.

Ander stood up and was about to leave , however he paused to look back to see who had been hit.

He saw a soldier take out a Ragnaid canister to treat his wounded comrade, the woman who had handed him the rifle.

He tightened his grip on the rifle before he turned and began to run through the streets. He should have acted quicker.

He turned and began to run through the streets. The distant sound of gunfire fillin the air as the battle for Straban began.

* * *

AN: after playing fire emblem awakening, and watching a ton of VC videos, I've decided, screw it, I'm going to do a FE:A and VC crossover!

A few things that I'm going to quickly note here, mostly for my sake:

1\. This story will be mostly focusing on a small squad of Gallian OCs, more on those later, and on Robin.

2\. This is definitely going to be an alternate timeline in the FE:A universe, those of you that have keen eyes will have spotted where it diverges.

3\. The Robin in this story will be currently based on the avatar I'm currently using, more on her later.

Anyway I hope you enjoy, please review, favourite or follow, or any combination of the three or all of them.


	2. Chapter 2: The Battle Of Straban

" _That day, was the day that everything we once knew was forever changed, that day was the day the world changed, and that day would be the day my life would change._

 _Of course at the time I didn't care for the repercussions that we would inevitably face, I just wanted to make sure that there would be a town left to go home to when it was over. Quite frankly I think the town watch wanted the same thing._

 _And so the beginning of a new era began with the battle of Straban."_

 _-An extract from the memoirs of 2nd Lieutenant Ander Ulmenholz_

* * *

Ander had no idea how long he had been running, it was probably just a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. He managed to keep running through the cobbled streets of his home turned battleground. Already the staccato sound of gunfire could be heard tearing through the once tranquil air, occasionally joined by the roars of the dragons, though these became less and less regular.

Three he passed by times he saw the dragon riders within the town, the first time the rider was about to engage a squad of town guard who had spotted the threat, the second and third time they were dead. Ander guessed that the vanguard of the attacking force had been render combat ineffective. However he did see four casualties, two of which were wounded but still able to fight, while one was badly wounded and needed to be evacuated and another was beyond the medics help.

To the numerically inferior Gallian town watch, every causality would be sorely felt.

Finally he could see the farm house, one of the last buildings before one stepped off the cobbled roads and onto the country track. An old building stone which stood out from the newer buildings, it was a fairly sizeable building with two floors plus the attic and about eight rooms. It was here before Straban became a town just before the outbreak of the first Europa War back when it was a mere hamlet. A frequent story was that it took a tank round during the empire's invasion, and remained standing.

Wether or not that was true, Ander couldn't say as he was fighting elsewhere, it hadn't escaped the current battle as the carcass of one of the dragons had crashed into the garden, along with the corpse of the rider. Behind the stone wall which separated it from the fields, crouched five town watch guards, one carrying a radio.

Sprinting the last few meters, he vaulted over the first wall before he slammed the wall which the town watch where hiding behind. Several curses of surprise left the soldier's mouths before one of them, a man older than Ander with a dark beard sighed.

"Watch yourself, unless you want get yourself shot through friendly fire!" The man shifted his grip on his rifle.

"Sorry." Ander apologised. He really didn't like being snuck up while on the field, so he should have guessed that they wouldn't have taken to him running up without calling out his presence. There was reason why 'friendlies coming' and 'watch your fire' were commonly spoken together.

He peeked over the wall to see the enemy advancing towards them. They were a rag-tag assortment, they bore very little in the way of uniformity; no two soldiers seemingly had the same type of armour or weapons, however each one looked like a killer. A few seemed to be wearing enough armour to be classed as walking tanks.

"So who is in charge for this unit?" He asked.

The man who had chided him for not calling out his presence raised his hand. "I am." He said, his expression grim. "We were evacuating the family here, when one of the dragon riders attacked us. He went for the couple when our squad leader took the hit. He didn't make it."

Ander was silent for a moment, another casualty. Yet what concerned him more was the fact that the dragon rider was targeting civilians. He hoped that his sister was safe.

For now though he needed to focus on the encroaching battle.

"So what's the plan?" He asked as he watched the enemy march closer and closer.

"We hold this position for as long as we can." The squad leader said in a commanding tone. "However we are to fall back to the second line at 3rd street if we are about to be overrun, if we're forced to retreat from the second line we retreat to the southern plaza, there we make our stand until we are able to evacuate or reinforcements arrive."

"Understood." Ander nodded as he brought his rifle to his shoulder. He knew that the town watch could only delay the enemy and buy time for the civilians to evacuate while stalling them until reinforcements arrived.

For now Ander peered down the iron sights and waited for the enemy to step into range.

* * *

Ergrat scowled slightly. He had expected taking the town to have been somewhat easier, a rare misstep on his part.

When he saw the town's defenders move into positions he had originally just thought that they were townspeople how had been hurriedly pressed into service. That paired with the fact that this town seemed to lack any sort of fortifications it seemed like a fairly easy target.

He had sent the wyvern riders forwards in order to weaken the town's lacklustre defences even more. What he expected was chaos to ensue, the town's people would scatter like panicked rats and the guard would attempt to keep order rather than focus on facing the enemy.

What had happened was that the riders did managed to cause some disruption and kill some of the defenders. However then they were cut down by the rag tag guards.

It seemed that the town guard seem to be mages, of some description. They fired flaming bolts from their strange staffs. Were they all spellcasters in this strange land? Whatever the case it changed nothing, mages bled like every other person. Their blood would stain the path to Plegia's victory.

"MEN, PREPARE TO CHARGE!" He roared, soon his voice was joined by roars of his men as they surged forwards.

* * *

Ander slowly drew his sights towards his first target, a heavily armoured man armed with a spear. There was an odd sort of juxtaposition between the two forces. The enemy were a small horde of soldiers armed with axes, swords, spears and bows who roared with anticipation as they marched forwards towards the Gallians who, by contrast, were equipped with rifles and SMGs who were solemnly quiet as they awaited the enemy to close the distance.

He briefly glanced towards his temporary squad mates. Each one of them adjusted their holds on their weapons occasionally peaking upwards to watch the approaching foes. Yet despite their nervousness they remained resolute and held their positions.

To them Ander would look remarkably calm, like any experienced soldier. However he felt his stomach churn as he fought of the dreaded consequences should the enemy break through their defences. If any civilians were hurt because he wasn't focusing, it would haunt him to his grave, if Maria died then he wouldn't be able to live knowing that it was his fault.

Ander's squad leader wet his lips nervously before giving the order "Riflemen! Prepare to fire!"

The town watch readied themselves to fire. Across the first defensive line other squads were given similar orders as they readied themselves. Men and women swallowed their fear or uttered prayers for forgiveness or protection and good fortune.

Ander took a breath, mentally counted to three, before exhaling, repeating the process until he was as calm as he could be.

"Fire!"

At once the Gallians silence was broken as gunshots thundered through the air, Ander's rifle joined the chorus as he pulled the trigger, he felt the gun buck violently against his shoulder as he fired five times before realigning his aim.

His squad-mates managed to strike their targets with some success as did the other squads. Cries of pain filled the air as bullets found their marks with often deadly results. Ander and those that targeted the armoured knights had somewhat less luck as the shot mostly bounced off the heavy plate.

Muttering profanities Ander quickly reloaded his rifle before re-aiming, only to see that one of his rounds had struck a gap close to the right shoulder and had lodged itself there. The knight itself was rolling his right shoulder, trying to dislodge the bullet.

Ander took aim at the second time, this time aiming for the head, in particular the what he assumed was some sort of view port or slat so that the wearer could see where they were going.

Ander squeezed the trigger once more. This time he decided against firing again, focusing instead on aiming. He didn't need to fire a second shot anyway; the bullet flew true, he could have sworn he heard a dull klung as it struck its mark. Whatever the case the knight toppled over as blood stained his breastplate.

 _Twang, wizz, twing, wizz._

"INCOMING!"

Ander instinctively hit the ground. As arrows fell around the squad with soft thuds. The two sub machine gun armed town watch soldiers stood up and opened fire, as gunfire rattled through the air.

Ander quickly stood back up and fired, this time the enemy was almost right on top of them. He took only a second to take aim, this time he targeted a soldier carrying an axe. Once again the rifle recoiled it fired the lethal projectiles. This time the bullets punched through his lighter armour and he fell.

"Damnit! They're endless!" The squad leader exclaimed as he fired his rifle, killing a swordsman with a bullet to the head.

"The signal to retreat to the second line has been given." The soldier carrying the radio announced, still crouching behind the stone wall.

"Shit, already?!" Ander cursed. Despite it being only a few minutes since the first rounds were fired it was obvious that the town watch's first line of defence was being overrun, if it wasn't already.

At this rate civilians would still be inside the southern portion of town by the time the second line fell, he hoped that more town watch guardsmen would be waiting for them at the second line.

"Alright, fall back to the second line!" The squad leader commanded as the squad rose to their feet and began to fall back while arrows and jeering warriors followed them. Ander once again vaulted across the stone wall back onto the cobbled roads. Another shower of arrows landed, this time followed by a pained yelp. He briefly turned to see that the radio operator was struck in the arm. Thankfully he was still running otherwise the following enemies would have slaughtered him.

"Don't pull it out!" Ander called out to the radio operator. "You'll just bleed out, just focus on slowing the bleeding, there will be a medic waiting for us at the second line!"

He knew that a medic would be waiting for them at the next line of defence, he just hoped that their would be more than a medic waiting for them.

* * *

Cathrine cursed as she loaded up the high explosive shells into the tank's auto loader. She really didn't like being kept at the back doing worthless work. As far as she was concerned, that was when things began to fall apart.

Okay, to be fair she did often find herself on the short end of the stick during the civil war (she went against a type-B heavy tank, in a light tank, not a preferred situation for any tanker) but at least there, on the field, she had some control of the situation. Right now she was hoping that the second line would hold out better than the first, and in her experience just praying for something to happen wasn't enough for a plan to work.

"We should be out there helping." She ranted frustratedly as she carefully placed the shell down into place. "We're able to use a rifle just as well as them, we took the same basic training course as them. Instead we're wasting time trying to fix up this piece of junk."

The 'piece of junk' in question was an old Gallian tank, a late EWI design which was mostly obsolete compared to the type-36s that were in service across the principality. Of course some retrofits had been made, for starters the addition of an autoloader and better armour at the cost of some mobility.

Of course they were having trouble with the engine since the milita who had requisitioned it previously had complained about the engine being unreliable. Unfortunately it was the engine that was stopping them from leaving the workshop and aiding the town watch.

"If we get the tank running, we'll be much more help then we would ever be with rifles." Kallum stated as he continued to work on the engine. Looking at the mess of pipes and wires before noticing something. The starter for the engine was slightly loose.

"IF, we get the damn thing running!" Catherine exclaimed as she gave the tank a savage kick, the room echoing with a load clang.

Suddenly the engine began to splutter before it began to roughly purr.

Kallum smiled slightly as he looked at his dumbstruck officer.

Cathrine still had her mouth open and was about to say something else before she decided to close it and start anew.

"Corporal, please remind me to watch my big mouth."

* * *

Ander kept his rifle trained on the the corner of the street. It had been a few minutes since the first line of defence had fallen and he was thankful to report that this line was holding up better. This wasn't just thanks to the three extra soldiers who were positioned on the rooftop to his right and the sandbag barricade he was crouched behind (though he would be lying if he wasn't greatful for those factors). The streets now funnelled the attackers into their sights, meaning that they couldn't overwhelm them with numbers alone.

He felt his arm ache a little as he kept the gun aimed as the spot. While he was a soldier his specialisation was either as a shock trooper or a heavy scout, this was further reinforced by the fact that he was often tasked with countering Darcsan Hunts and raids during both the Empire's invasion and the Civil War, even though he was in two different units. Despite missing most of the major engagements of both the wars he still earned a (somewhat quiet) reputation as an ace soldier becoming "Ander the Jackal" to some, due to the fact he used scavenged weaponry on several occasions.

He adjusted the ear piece, a large padded thing which covered his left ear and was held by a metal headband. The radio operator that had been hit before was still being treated as the arrow had done significant damage to his arm. Ander had volunteered to take the role as he had enough experience to use one in this situation; it was considered to be a standard requirement that any high ranking NCO or commissioned officer should know how to utilise a radio, even though Ander wasn't technically in charge of the squad he still took it upon himself to make sure that the squad remained in contact with their peers.

The radio crackled to life before captain Zackary's voice sounded clearly from the earpiece, "All unit's, report in."

One of the soldiers peeked out from behind the corner, clearly not confident enough to push up the street and try to take the second line. A sudden sharp _crack_ of a sniper round tore through the air befofe the knocked off a stone dangerous close to the offending soldier. The soldier quickly realised his mistake and quickly pulled himself back around the corner, he was clearly smart enough to realise that hanging around would result in loosing his head, even though he was 400 meters away.

"This is squad A: we're holding out just fine here." He heard a one of the squad leaders say across the radio.

"Squad B: only facing light resistance here."

The third squad leader's voice was backed against the sound of heavy gunfire. "This is squad C: they're coming thick and fast, we're going to have to use grenades."

He looked to his squad's leader, he was about to relay the request to report when he saw a fiery red glow around the corner were the enemy was hiding.

"This Squad D: be advised, they've some sort of wizards in their ranks."

Suddenly a great ball of fire shot around the corner. The spherical inferno slammed into the building the sniper team was stationed on top of before exploding in a defender thunderclap and a shower of fire, dust, smoke and debris. A shockwave shoved Ander to the ground along with the rest of the squad as brick and stone landed around them with hollow clatter which went unheard by the deafened defenders.

Ander pulled himself up to his feet briefly glancing around around him to quickly take stock the chaos. Most of the squad had stumbled to their feet however the squad leader was immobile and laying on his back. Ander quickly made his way towards the unmoving soldier and quickly checked his vitals, he wasn't breathing and he had no pulse.

Dead, Ander thought to himself grimly before Zackary's voice sounded urgently over the radio.

"Squad G, report!?"

Ander looked in front of him to see that the enemy force was gathering before him, with four armoured knights at the front with three sword wielding soldiers with a man wearing red robes and a stereotypical pointed wizards behind them along with a man with a lion's mane of hair dressed in ornate golden trimmed armour.

Ander quickly spoke into his headpiece's microphone. "This is Squad G, we need reinforcements."

"Affirmative, just hold for 120 seconds." He heard the distinct rumble of an engine before the communication with Zackary went silent.

Two minutes might not sound long to defend a position, but Ander knew that a lot could happen it two minutes while holding an objective.

The man in ornate armour suddenly spoke, his voice deep and baritone. "This is your last chance to surrender peasants!" He spat the word out with distain. "Do so and you'll be granted what little mercy I and the kingdom of Plegia have left. Continue to resist and you will be crushed like pathetic insects."

Ander quickly pushed himself against the part of what remained of the sand bag barricade. He looked to his squad mates, all of them held their rifles in white knuckled grips. For them death had come today.

Ander refused to believe that this was his time to die.

"On my order, open fire, but focus on keeping them pinned down." He said, just loud enough for the remaining three soldiers. "We just need to hold out for a little longer."

The town watch looked at him like he had taken a leave of his senses, one was about to speak when the warrior in the ornate armour (an officer of some description, Ander thought) spoke again.

"What will be your answer?"

Ander took a breath and raised his voice. "My name is Staff Sargent Ulmenholz of the Gallian armed forces." He spoke with a clear voice as one of the town watch whispered that he was Ander the Jackel. "And this is my answer, SUPPRESSING FIRE!"

The remaining watch soldiers stood up and opened fire, with Ander quickly joining them, rifle rounds cracked through the air as the the armoured knights hurriedly closed ranks in order to protect their fellow soldiers, however they weren't quick enough to prevent two of the swordsmen from being hit during the initial volley the initial volley, though they got away with just wounds. The knights began to slowly stride forwards in a wall of iron, their shields protecting their vulnerable faces.

"Keep up! Aim at their joints, as soon as you see a gap in their defences aim for it!" The Staff Sargent barked as he began to aim. "We just need to slow them down for a little while longer!"

The town watch to their credit were doing a good job of keeping the knights at bay as they aimed for elbow joints and their feet. Despite having enough armour to deflect bullets on a reliable basis, that didn't change the fact that they were walking into projectiles that could eviscerate them in one false move. Given that their officer was behind them though they were probably more afraid of failure than dying via a gunshot.

Yet slowly but surely they began to approach what remained of the town watch squad's defence line. Metal boots clanked against the cobbled roads, with each step they became a little more confident, quickly their step slightly.

Ander could feel the earth tremble slightly seemingly in time with the footsteps of the encroaching enemy. He reached into his trouser pocket to fish out one final magazine the moment they crossed the 250 meter mark. He ducked down out of habit in order to load his rifle.

He felt the trembling get stronger.

 _Wait, it's continuous._

A deep throaty rumble could be heard as Ander turned around to the street before he possibly the most welcome sight of the day as a old Gallian light tank rolled around the corner behind the beleaguered squad, gun elevated and ready to fire.

It didn't take a second for Ander to guess who was behind the wheel and who was behind the gun.

There was a _foomph_ and a plume of smoke from the cannon barrel as a bright blue glowing shell gracefully sailed over the squad before slamming into the mist of the line of armoured knights in blue flamed Ragnite explosion which was announced by a teeth rattling boom, more debris rained down upon the battle ground as smoke and dust filled the air.

Ander stood up from behind his cover in order to see if there was anyone left standing from the high explosive mortar round. First glance suggested that the enemy had been wiped out by the blast, they had been forced to to adopt a tight formation in order for their knights to effectively protect themselves from incoming fire. And judging by the fact that the ground was littered with armoured corpses, including the regally dressed officer, he seemed to be correct.

Until a fireball suddenly flew out of the smoke.

The squad hit the ground out of instinct, the fiery projectile hurtled over their cover before slamming into the tanks right treads. The metal tracks snapped in two with metal plates and bolts flying all over the place.

Ander quickly rose to his feet and aimed down the street. The wizard from before was standing in the middle of the street, he was surrounded by circles of glyphs and runes written in light as another fiery sphere was beginning to form in his hands. His face twisted in triumph.

Ander fired twice, both shots flew true and slammed into the Wizards chest. He stood in shock as the arcane markings faded into nothingness along with his fireball before he slowly fell to the ground.

As he toppled over Ander got a good look at his face. He probably wasn't much older than Ander, he was probably in his early-mid twenties. Yet he couldn't take his gaze off his eyes, hazel just like his own yet filled with fear as his life faded away.

He stood in silence for a while before he heard the radio crackle into life once again.

"All units be advised, military reinforcements have arrived. Continue to hold your positions."

Ander spoke into his radio. His voice betraying no emotion. "This is Squad G: order received, will comply." He said before he took off the radio and handed it to a surprised town watch guard before he vaulted over the sandbags before he slowly walked towards the fallen wizard.

He briefly stood over the fallen enemy before he knelt down. He carefully closed his eyes.

Meanwhile Cathrine had opened up the commanders hatch and was sitting on the old tank's turret as she watched the Staff Sargent's little ritual before he moved onto the rest of the men, including the officer who had roared bellicose threats.

She had seen this during the few times when they fought together, and judging from what she had heard he had begun this practice long before then. She knew that this was his way of coping with the aftershock of killing someone.

She was silent as he tended to the dead.

* * *

Major Alexander Damon had seen a lot during her career. More than her brown nosing elder brother ever saw before his inglorious death at Ghirlandaio. Unlike him she got to her position through hard work, rather than through connections. She had lead everything from rearguard actions to raids.

Yet she had never seen a force of knights and wizards come from some sort of other worldly gate of some description.

She brushed her iron grey hair out of her blue eyes as she regarded the enemy forces arrayed before the gate. In their centre was a bald man decorated with a whole manner of strange and alien looking tattoos. Her heavy APC 'Eisenblume' came to a halt as her troops arrayed themselves and prepared themselves as four grenadiers deployed their mortars.

She opened her mouth a prepared to issue one final chance to surrender, one final attempt to spare them a fool's death. Yet as soon as she did figures began to emerge from the gate.

She identified them as 'figures' because she was certainly that they were not human.

They wore masks over their dark flesh and their eyes were nothing more than red pinpricks of sinister light, their armour was dull and dirtied, as though they had never been cared for in their short life, as were their weapons. The man with tattoos grinned before proclaiming with the demented zeal of a madman.

"Hear me! I am Zarik, the prophet of your doom and the herald of the great-"

He never got to finish his proclamation as a spear impaled him through the chest.

He looked down, almost in disbelief, before he was cast aside by one of the humanoid monstrosities before they began to slaughter the rest of the warriors and wizards. Screams and panicked cries filled the air as the Gallians watched in fear induced silence. Their blades did nothing as the invaders were cut down.

As soon as they finished with them they began to lurch towards Gallian lines in a parody of human movement.

Alexander was the first to find the courage to speak. "All units! Put these abominations down!" She ordered. "Open fire!"

Before long the air was filled with a crescendo of gunfire, dominated by her personal vehicle's cannon. Yet despite the storm of lead, the unknown figures continued to move steadily forward as if to mock death. One was shredded to pieces by a volley of rifle fire and cannon rounds, what remained of it was still before it began to dissolve into a baleful purple cloud.

"Keep firing! They can die!"

Soon gunfire was joined by the whistle of mortar shell as the Gallian's inhuman new adversaries were torn apart one by one and laid low. Before long the last of them was dead, laying about 50 meters from the Eisenblume.

"Secure the area!" Alexander ordered before she looked towards the massive gate.

She knew that today would have dire repercussions for Gallia. Yet she had yet to realise that the shockwaves would reach far beyond the horizon. For now all she and her men could do was fortify the surrounding area.

* * *

The small collection of civilian vehicles waited on the roadside as trucks baring the Gallian military's emblem trundled down the rugged path under the noon day sun. Disembarking them was the remainder of the town watch, now relieved of their duty until further notice. Those that survived the battle now embraced their families, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and, sons and daughters were reunited. Yet not everyone made it and more than a few town watch soldier was forced to break the bad news and console their departed comrades' kin.

Ander stepped off the back of the truck and into the crowd as he searched for his sister and his grandmother. He prayed desperately that they were not among the dead.

"Ander!"

Suddenly Ander felt a cold pair of arms wrap around his as Maria, now wearing an oversized trench coat (probably given to her by Gran in an effort to keep her warm), almost tackled him with tears of relief running down her eyes.

At first he was frozen in surprise before he embraced his sibling. He knew that an uncertain future would await him as he would be soon recalled back into the army.

But for now, he could forget about that and the bloodshed, for now he could celebrate that the things and people that he held close were still here.

Though it still felt bittersweet to him.

* * *

 **AN: And that concludes chapter 2, though I did want to put this in chapter 1 I decided to separate the battle of Straban into two parts so I could get something out without completely loosing all energy. Now that's out of the way we can begin looking at the world across the gate and what state that is in.**

 **Also a quick shout out to Kamencolien for leaving a review, glad you've found this interesting and I hope that I can keep it up. Also thanks to HaloEmblem for favouriting the story. Once again any form of constructive feedback and/or encouragement is welcome, so don't be afraid to leave a review with feedback or any questions. If you like what you've seen, please favourite or follow this tale.**

 **Now I bid you good chapter... after a little BONUS GLOSSARY ENTRY! I'll do this occasionally for original elements that I've added to either worlds but I don't think I'll find a way to explain the lore behind them in the story itself.**

The GC-Mx mortar series

After the invasion Gallia attempted to improve its equipment, having heard about the federation's and the empire's successes with their grenadiers, the Gallian military decided that it would be prudent for this drive to include the implementation of grenadiers. The mortar project was handled by Colonel Leon Garl with aid from explosives expert Wendy Cheslock and a captured VB GW-5. However development was hampered by disagreements between Leon and Wendy and attacks from the GRA as well as mechanical issues. Eventually the GC-M1 and the GC-M2 would see limited action towards the end of the Gallian Civil war. Despite this Squads who received it praised its capabilities, ensuring the GC-M series would be another staple of the Gallian National Armouries.

The GC-M was the only domestically produced mortar used by Gallia at the time of the battle of Straban and had an excellent effective range, though this came at the cost of a reduced payload. In addition the Gallian National Armoury was able to produce smoke shells which could cover infantry advances, furthering its utility.


	3. Chapter 3: The echoes of Footsteps

" _The past few days have been somewhat hectic for us within the shepherds. Miriel recommended that I should keep journal to help me keep track of things as well as a means of clearing my head (I think she was talking about a scientific journal but I think just a normal diary will be a better fit, I admit I might have been a little distracted). We succeeded in our mission to bring reinforcements from Feroxi, however there was an attempt to capture Emmeryn. Even though it failed she was wounded lost her right arm and Phila's knights received a hammering._

 _However now with Feroxi soldiers by our sides we are able to drive the Plegian's out of our lands._

 _Currently the shepards are preparing to boot out the raiders that have overstayed their welcome as well as the Risen. Hopefully by the end of the day a strategy will be agreed at the most. Gods know we can't let this war get anymore chaotic."_

 _-An extract from Robin's diary_

* * *

For Robin, her ability to adapt to new situations continued to stagger her.

She had gone from amnesia plagued woman, to the Shepard's head tactician in the space of a few days. Her role involved her marching through forests, scorching plains, and frozen mountains. She had to help manage warriors and ensuring that they were in the right place at the right time. She had to change her tactics to account for their different strengths at weaknesses as well as their enemies behaviour.

She also had to adjust to their widely varied personalities outside of battle. One moment you could be presiding over a debate between the calm Panne and the logical minded Miriel (she hadn't realised that philosophy was one of Miriel's many fields of interest, then again she should have expected it), to trying to get Gaius to apologise for stealing the honey from the cooking tent after being caught by Lissa (how much sugar does one man need?!).

Yet when she looked back she realised that she had adjusted extremely quickly for someone who had lost their memory. Tactics came naturally to her as did magic, but where did those talents come from originally? How could a woman with no past become one of the most skilled tacticians in a kingdom?

She decided to push these thoughts aside and focus on what was happening in the present, namely the war council. She looked around at the table hoping to gauge the mood, though if she was being honest with herself that was unnecessary.

Flavia shifted the position of her hands from resting on top of each other to being clasped together. Her armour clinking slightly with each slight movement. Basillo was no different as he shifted slightly in his seat, his armour rattling as he rolled his shoulder. Though they adopted a unreadable expression, their discomfort was visible for long enough for Robin to pick up on it.

From her understanding of Feroxi culture, she knew that the two Khans were no strangers to combat. As Frederick said during their visit to Regna Ferox, 'battle is their politics'. To the inexperienced it would seem puzzling to see two seasoned warriors uncomfortable before a strategy meeting. Yet robin quickly realised that they knew that no large scale strategy, no matter how brilliant, could completely eliminate casualties in war, and they now had the unenviable task of trying to limit their casualties.

Robin looked to her right to see Chrom fidgeting. His frustration at the situation was obvious; it was bad enough that there had been an attempt to capture his sister, but the fact that she had sustained a life-changing injury and he wasn't there to help protect her had undoubtedly shook him up.

Robin pushed her scarlet hair out of her left eye. She was probably about the same age as the prince, perhaps a little older. Though it was hard to pin down an exact age since she was absent from any sort of record and she had no recollection of her past.

Fredrick stood to the prince's right, still in full plate armour and wearing a stoic expression, though Robin could tell that he was concerned for his charge's well being. During their practice session this morning he broke a practice sword... something which he rarely did despite his inherent ability to break anything. Quite frankly she shared Fredrick's concerns.

After this meeting I'm going to talk to him. She thought to herself before he heard the doors swing open before the Exalt stepped into the room.

She was mostly the same as usually was. She still had her blonde hair, which had been tidied up after her harrowing experience and her regal robes. However her right arm was missing, her right sleeve was tied close just about where the elbow would have been.

Her expression was solemn, she knew full well that regardless of her choices, people would die. Ylisseans, Feroxians, Plegians, innocent and guilty, this war would extract a steep cost from the Halidom. Yet she knew that the alternative would be to allow Gangrel to slaughter her people which would be unacceptable. Like it or not she had to do this.

Phila followed close behind, a recently healed scar still visible underneath her left eye. The veteran Pegasus knight, much like Fredrick, was resolute but concerned for the Exalt and her brother.

This was the one situation Robin didn't want to get used to, quite frankly the war was more than enough for her. Having to help Chrom deal with the emotional aftermath nearly loosing his sister was not any easier for the tactician.

Emmeryn seated herself to chrom's left so that she was between him and Robin. Her posture was dignified, as one would expect from royalty. However she wore a hard expression, a rarity. On most of the occasions the tactician saw the Exalt her face was calm and benign, even though she was still as calm as she usually was, her expression seemed to be almost alien compared to her usual visage.

She briefly glanced around the table before she spoke, her voice carrying across the room with ease. "Shall we begin?"

The two Khans nodded alongside Chrom and Robin before the tactician decided to start off the conversation. "I suppose a update on our current situation before we continue."

Flavia smiled, though Robin could clearly see that she was just trying to dissipate some of the tension caused by the situation. "It's generally a good idea to know what sort of mess you're trying to get yourself out of before you make a hash of things." She said before she adopted her more serious demeanour. "To tell the truth though, I've heard some rather interesting reports from our scouts."

That got Robin's attention. "What kind of reports?" She asked, leaning forwards and resting her elbows on the table.

"Quite frankly down right strange reports." Flavia replied bluntly.

"Some Yilsse Scouts have just returned barely half an hour ago as well." Phila stated, standing to attention her voice was clear as one would expect for someone of her station. Phila had always been a soldier first and foremost. From what robin knew she was from a family who had a history of service in the Yilssean Military. Though given how short the Shepard's visits were to Yilsstole during the past few months, what she did know came from overheard conversations. She continued. "I must say though, what to they had to say was also quite interesting."

"If it's alright with you, I would like to hear your report first Phila." Flavia requested to the Pegasus knight captain. "Perhaps then I might have an answer for the quiet frankly puzzling reports I've read, if I didn't know the dastards who wrote them I would swear that they were lying."

"Not to mention the Plegian forces in the West are our major concern right now." Robin added, earning a nod from Chrom. Emmeryn also nodded in agreement before Phila began her report.

"As you now the majority of Gangrel forces have marched into Ylisse, along with roving bands of raiders consisting of sell swords and bandits." She said in a matter of faculty tone. "However they have left forces in the north to stop Feroxi from invading from the south."

"From the reports I've been given your forces have managed to rally round and have began to show that Ylisse is not backing down easily." Basillo laid both his gauntleted hands down on the table. "However the Plegians can still plausibly push onwards toward the Ylisstol. Obviously the mad king has planned ahead in case he failed to capture Emmeryn, he just needs to shed more blood."

Out of the corner of her eye Robin could see that Chrom tensed up slightly at the meantion of the failed attempt to capture his sister. Even though he did not directly say it, he still blamed himself for the fact that the Exalt was nearly taken captive by Gangrel and that she lost her arm. Robin resolved to talk to him after this meeting.

"One would expect the Plegian army to take that route to victory but if our scouts are correct, the Plegians are preparing to retreat."

That definitely caught Robin off guard, the Plegian army had reason to have confidence despite the fact that Ferox had joined the fray. They had managed to smash through Ylisse's boarder defences without much difficulty. So why would they retreat now?

"It has to be a trap!" Chrom announced angrily. "The dastard is trying to play us!"

"I would be inclined to believe you, until one of my men found a message with the retreat orders when we were able to catch a raiding force off guard. We managed to decode it since it was using a simple cipher." Phila said as she produced the letter and handed it to Chrom who scrutinised the message for about half a minute before he passed it onto Flavia.

"Seems to be exactly as you say." He said as he passed it onto the East-Khan who then began to look at it with a quizzical expression. "Gangrel is ordering a retreat, though I still believe it's a trap."

"The Plegian palace has issued a retreat." Flavia corrected as she handed it to the West-Khan regarded the message with a similar expression to Flavia. "Usually when Gangrel issues an order, he puts his name on the paper and since this order has presumably been given to all of the Plegian forces, it will have come from Gangrel."

"We also found a half-written and somewhat colourful response from the commander." Phila added. "If he was expecting the order, he was certainly trying to hide the lack of surprise."

Emmeryn turned to the tactician to her left hand side as Robin received the letter. As Flavia had stated it was indeed a withdrawal order from the Plegian palace, and the mad king's name or Adversa's was no where to be found. "And what do you make of this?"

Robin paused as she contemplated this latest turn of events. Silence reigned over the room as she weighed possibilities and theories against one another, eliminating the outlandish and illogical one by one until she was left with the most likely reasons for the Plegians army's more recent behaviour.

"There's two reasons I believe are plausible." She stated. "The first reason is that this is some sort of elaborate trap, I say elaborate because it would be a massive deception and one well placed scout party could blow the entire deception, but I wouldn't call it impossible."

"And the second." Chrom shifted slightly.

She paused for a moment. "Gangrel has been killed." She couldn't think of a better way of wording her theory. There was a stunned silence before Basillo spoke up.

"Is that you're way of saying that it is certainly a trap?"

"There are people in Plegia who would certainly like to put a knife in the mad king's back, granted only a fraction of them would halt hostilities." Flavia sighed as she placed a hand on her forehead, clearly frustrated by the fact they didn't have a clue. "My advice: claim back the ground that was lost but be cautious about it."

Robin nodded, seeing the logic behind the Khan's reasoning. "I agree, Phila, is there any knights you can spare?"

"My flight is currently trying to recover losses, but I think I can get some knights from the other flights." Phila answered simply. "They should be able to augment the scout parties and increase their effectiveness."

Emmeryn nodded after both the Khans signalled their agreement, satisfied that they were had reached a conclusion to that manner. "Unless anyone has any protests, we will advance west and reclaim the land we've lost."

"And on that note, I should really tell you what my scouts have been watching for the past few days." Flavia announced sighing slightly before taking a brief pause and leaning against the oak table. She briefly glanced to her side to Basillo as if to ask for help. The west khan merely returned a look which said 'you're on your own'. Realising that Basillo was going to be of no help to her, she began her explanation.

"Well... before we begin I'm going to assume that we are aware of the grey valley."

Robin looked towards the east Khan with some bemusement. "The Grey Valley?"

"It's a valley located close to the Storm water sea, an inland sea which boarders Regna Ferox, Ylisse and Plegia." Fredrick explained to the tactician. "The valley itself is spilt into two sections, the Ingress and the passage. The ingress is plain boardered by a pine forest, the passage leads into Yilssean lands but is narrow and difficult for large groups of men through, in addition storm winds are present close to the peak of the mountains, making it impossible to fly over. The Storm Water sea is only slightly easier to navigate."

"Originally Ylisse had a fort there." Emmeryn added to the great knight's explanation. "However it was abandoned long before my father's time because of how difficult it was to supply and instead Altimire, the town which is located close to the passage, was fortified."

Robin remembered the Shepards going through Altimire on the way during their first march to the long-fort. The tactician's observations strongly suggested that Altimire would be a nightmare to take and hold, the fortifications themselves, while not not impenetrable, would prove a difficult obstacle and that was before you considered the well motivated guards and the people themselves who, judging by the fact they passed by many a man and woman who carried a sword or bow, could pitch in with the defence of the town. In addition it would be a race against time for the attackers to solidify their hold if they besieged and took the town since they would now have to worry about a liberation force coming from the long fort. Given how well fortified the town

"Some Feroxi like to go there as a means of training their wilderness survival skills." Flavia continued after Fredrick's and Emmeryn's explanations was finished. "Though most of these individuals are considered to be loners and eccentrics. However one of my warriors who was a one time champion for me discovered that the Plegians had been taking interest in the valley. So much so they went to the trouble of bringing a significant sized force."

Robin was trying to comprehend why in the name of the gods the Plegians would take interest in the valley. "Where they trying to create a staging ground?" She asked before the east khan shook her head.

"That's what he thought, but it was not to be." She said, hand held over her head as though she had a headache. "Things began to get surreal once their leader, Zarik, arrived."

"I've heard of Zarik." Phila stated. "He's a Grimleal fanatic, incredibly cunning and incredibly dangerous." Her tone suggested that his presence was by all means bad news, and even judging by the simplistic description Robin knew that things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

"Judging by the description of events Zarik utilised some sort of, quote, portal, utilising some sort of glowing rock and a ritual, unquote." That had caught robin's attention.

"A portal?"

Flavia nodded. "The report described as a tall gateway large enough for three grounded wyverns to pass through at the same time and have room to spare. The report made it absolutely clear that he performed the ritual alone. Now I know little to nothing about magic but I know such a feat would require more than one mage."

"Indeed." Robin said, agreeing with the east Khan's observation. "From what I understand opening a portal that size from one location to another requires either specially made artefacts, multiple mages or both. He must be able to use this new mineral to amplify his own magic."

"I don't like what that implies." Chrom muttered. "If Gangrel had access to that sort of power..." He drifted off as he thought about the consequences that the Halidom would face if the mad king had that sort of power.

"This is the first time I've heard of this mineral. He must have been seeking more." She theorised to the council.

"That I would assume would be the case." Flavia agreed, nodding in agreement with the captain. "However judging by the fact that he didn't return suggests he was unsuccessful. About a day later later however a group of individuals, nine in number, along with what my impromptu scout described as 'two horseless metal carriages'."

Robin was silent as she tried to comprehend what she was hearing however things got even more bizarre.

"The men from the gate then engaged the rearguard elements which had been camping outside the portal. From what the report slates, the men attacked the Plegian men with 'staffs which shot firey bolts' and managed to dislodge

Robin was at first stunned by the fact that this until she remembered the strange mineral that Zarik had been reported to have used to create the portal. "Could they be mages?" She muttered, mostly to herself. It didn't seem outlandish once she considered its properties.

"In any case my scout decided not to stick around and left as quietly as he could." Flavia said as she finished her tale, looking around her to see what the council's reaction was; in this case the listeners weren't entirely sure how to react to such a strange tale, though each one of them knew that this wasn't the place for stories and rumours; the Khan was telling them this because she was confident that there was some truth.

Silence endured before Chrom addressed the council. "While I can tell that you're not making this up; I do want to investigate these matters with my own eyes." He said firmly.

"There's been reports of lots of Risen near Altimire and attacking refugees on the north road; so it would be prudent for a force to head up there anyway to thin the ranks before their numbers get too much for the town defences." Robin added, gaining a nod from Fredrick. "I believe that it would be best for the Shepard's to head north."

Emmeryn nodded in understanding. Robin noticed that the Exalt was holding a hand over her stump, as though she was checking that her arm was still gone. As the council continued Robin would see Chrom look at his sister with concern several times, especially when her lost arm seemed to bother her. It was clear that the guilt was still weighing down on his shoulders.

She couldn't help but wonder if he would truly recover.

* * *

Validar, now lord regent Validar, stood in the grand halls of the Plegian palace. It was undoubtedly the jewel in the kingdoms crown. Even though the rock that made up its wall had been carved centuries ago, it had barely worn by time. With the servants busy elsewhere it was peaceful and still. Most other times he would enjoy the tranquility, use it to plan his next step and reflect on his victories and defeats so that he may utilise the experience in later schemes.

However it was hard to enjoy the moment of calm after the discovery of Zarik's sabotage and the after effects.

It began when the reinforcements that would have assured the Exalt's capture did not arrive. The leader of the force put up a valiant effort, despite the but in the end the mission ended in failure without the vital personal. At first glance it seemed like they had gotten delayed; the riders were sent out in the beginning of the twilight hours of the morning, visibility was poor especially with that weather, and despite it being an improbability. Until a contact of his stumbled on the corpse of the messenger who was supposed to hand the riders their orders.

At which point he suspected Zarik, even though he was talented he was too ambitious, too eager to strike at the hated Halidom. He had the connections which could realistically use to divert resources quietly, that was the reason he decided to take him under his wing in the first place; such cunning was undoubtedly something the Grimleal could use, but not without potential risks.

Validar's suspicions were confirmed after Aversa made a few 'less than polite' inquiries; Zarik had indeed diverted troops to his little expedition. He had deliberately drawn them to him to sabotage the attempt at capturing the Exalt.

At that point Validar knew he had to make an example out of Zarik. He would have performed the deed himself but he was needed here. Thankfully one of his more capable followers was close by and, thanks to some nearby risen, ended Zarik's life, however what concerned him was that the forces that had opposed Zarik had access to weapons or magics not seen before, according to his acolyte who had seen them through the eyes of the risen.

As a safety precaution he kept the remaining rearguard at the entrance of the gate. Closing the gate would take just as much time and effort as opening it. Even with the Storm Iron, Zarik didn't just open it on a whim, he had undoubtedly planned it out meretriciously, and he couldn't allow a potential threat to be unwatched.

This was only proven when the other worlders promptly drove off the rearguard. If only the troubles ended there.

Some of mercenaries who were part of the rearguard had gotten it in their heads that Gangrel had ordered them to die, and so made a rather impressive attempt to kill the king utilise a narrow pass and some explosives.

Now Gangrel was missing, presumed dead, as well as Aversa. While Validar had designed his grand plan to account for the losses of even valuable pieces (he had even counted on Gangrel dying to his own ambitions), he had not expected them to be removed from the board this quickly. Now he was recalling the generals to make sure any unrest was kept to a minimum, there were those who would want the throne for themselves.

However it wasn't all bad news: Zarik had inadvertently allowed for more Risen to enter this realm. His contact in Valm had noted this an had noted that this would allow for a more open approach to be taken, rather than hiding in the shadows.

One path had be closed off, but many more had been opened to Validar. At the end of those paths was the inevitable future; the return of Grima.

* * *

The meeting had ended. Most of it was logistics and organisational details as well as going into the details of the plans to retake the lands that had been lost in the opening stage of the war. However there were things Chrom needed to say to Emmeryn, things he needed to say as a brother. All the others had left.

Now he could speak as sibling.

For a moment silence reigned as he looked at his sister, a well of emotions threatened to overflow.

"Why?" He said softly, his voice horse even though he had not shed any tears. "Why didn't you let me go? Why did it have to be you who lost their arm?" He did not realise the fact that he was beginning to raise his voice until Emmeryn spoke, her voice soft but still carried itself through the air.

"Chrom."

He looked up to meet her eyes. They held the same look that he had seen time and time again during their childhood understanding and compassion, part of him wanted to believe that he was not deserving after he failed to protect her.

"I couldn't let you come with me because I wanted to keep you and Lissa safe." She looked towards her remaining hand. "I have my own responsibilities as Exalt, I have subjects that I need to care for, but I also have responsibilities as your sister as well; I went knowing that I may very well have to die for Ylisse. Taking you with me would serve no purpose."

Chrom was silent.

"Ever since we were young, I've always endeavoured to do what's best for the kingdom. But truth be told... if it wasn't for you and Lissa... I may well have become like our father."

That statement clearly surprised the prince. The Exalt continued.

"Every time I walk through the streets I had to stop myself from crying." Her eyes turned to the table as she tried to hide the sadness in her own eyes. "I... It was dark days for me... sometimes I would look from the balcony and debate just throwing myself off. Yet in those dark times you and Lissa kept me sane. Kept me anchored and allowed me persist. Now when I look out from the balcony I'm reminded that there's a reason to continue living; even after the darkest of nights, the dawn will come."

She looked up. "I went knowing that I may very well walk to my death, but I know that you, Lissa and the rest of the Shepards would help lead Ylisse through the night."

"I... I'm sorry." Chrom apologised, ashamed at his outburst.

"Don't be." Emmeryn said smiling softly. "If Robin can forgive you for walking into the bathing tent by accident, I can forgive you."

"Thanks, anyway I'll prepare... wait, she told you about that!?"

* * *

Ander walked through the decorated halls of central's HQ, usually he did not spend much time here as most of the time he was further afield. However he was now in Randgriz since most most of Straban's population was waiting for the military to properly secure both sides of the gate.

It was rare, if not completely unheard for the Gallian military to move beyond the boarders of their homeland. Yet these were not normal times; an unknown enemy had come from another world and had managed to strike far too close to the Gallian heartlands. Seemingly it was only good fortune that this Plegia hadn't brought more men and kept the initiative.

There was one thing that was certain and predictable: Ander was being placed back on active duty, and judging by the fact that he had recently heard rumours that regiment was being deployed beyond the gate, he was going to be either away from the action or right in the thick of it.

He eventually came to the room he was looking for; the briefing room.

Usually when he was summoned by the major, he would meet her in her jurisdiction's headquarters. However from what Ander understood the top brass had wanted to speak to her. Obviously it was about the gate, it was currently the major focus of Gallia. Everyone from cafe owners to the ministers and the princess herself had weighed in on the subject. The for the most part consensus on it was the it was necessary to fortify the other side of the gate, yet it had been done with great reluctance, the scars of war were still fresh.

He gripped the brass handle and pushed it downwards before he pushed the door open.

The layout of the room was not particularly unlike the command tents he was often briefed in. The middle of the room was dominated by a large table with a map of Gallia and some parts of its immediate neighbours. However the well decorated walls and the large panelled window (a fifth of which was covered in plywood, obviously the military had better things to spend their budget right now rather than hiring a glazier).

Standing at the head of the table was the Major whom was holding a binder. Wearing her full uniform, Ander felt like he was being undisciplined for turning up in his civilian clothing. Never the less he stood to attention as the major looked up from the collection of papers

"Apologies for the civilian clothing, Sir, I can here as fast as I could."

"At ease." The major took out a folded piece of paper as Ander relaxed a little. "I thank you for coming on short notice." She unfolded the paper and placed it upon to reveal that it was a map, albeit quite a simple one. In the centre of it was a rectangle marked with the word 'Gate'.

"As you know, forces from the nation known as 'Plegia', invaded Gallia two days ago. The forces were successfully driven off, though what was left of the rearguard was killed by unknown aggressors. As we speak we are deploying fortifications on the other side of the gate."

Ander noted that last part, for the most part the the major had just recapped recent events, namely the battle of Straban and the last few days. Yet the 'unknown aggressors' was a new piece of the story; he had heard a few people who had claimed to have overheard some of the troops talking about strange creatures who looked human but moved like they were puppets and refused to die after sustaining wounds that would normally kill a man.

Looks like the rumours were true after all.

The major continued. "As you have probably heard, command has been considering placing our regiment on the other side of the gate, as you have probably guessed by now they've made that decision. You will be moved out tomorrow morning."

"Mariana isn't going to like that." Ander muttered to himself before he realised that he had spoken out of turn.

"I understand that you are frustrated about being pulled off leave, especially since your sister is ill. However we haven't got a choice in the matter, so buck up."

"I understand, Sorry major." Ander apologised. He knew he didn't have a right to complain since he was a soldier, duty came first.

Major Damon leaned on the table. "The following information is not to be discussed with anyone else, civilian or otherwise, outside this room until you and your squad are on the other side of the gate, do I make myself clear?" Her voice was stern, both of them knew it was clear. It wasn't a question, it was an order.

"Yes sir!"

The major nodded before she gestured to the map before her. To the eastern side of the map lay what seem what seemed to be a coast or lakeside, an area of interest was marked with an 'X' labelled 'boats' was located close to the southern end of the beach. The rest of the area was bordered by mountains, with a pass to the north west. A second area of interest labelled 'campsite' was located near to said pass while a third X labelled 'Rearguard camp' was located to the east, not too far from the the boats.

"Advanced teams secured the other side of the gate a few days ago before our engineers began on the fortifications. Some rearguard elements where found beyond the gate but where routed fairly quickly. Some did escape but they haven't returned, meaning they've probably reported back to their superiors. They fled using boats located here." Major Damon pointed to the X along the shore. "Given the fact that the ships bore Plegian insignias, we can assume that Plegia lays over those waters."

Ander nodded, it was simple logic, but he knew that the Major was just being clear for the sake of avoiding any misunderstandings.

"While we are certain that Plegia came from the east, there's still the question of what lies beyond the pass, like it or not, we need to scout it. That's where you come in."

Ander straightened up slightly. He could guess that he was picked out because of his previous experience. He had often had to operate with only a small group of men, limited resources and limited contact with command. However he was still a Staff Sargent, he doubted that they would leave something like this to be lead by a non-commissioned officer.

"Due to the fact that the reconnaissance squad will most likely be forced to act independently, command has decided that an officer who has experience with operating alone would be ideal. To that end you have been promoted to the rank of second Lieutenant and will lead the new squad which has been formed for this task."

Ander somehow managed to keep his jaw from hitting the ground. He had received a two rank promotion, to a commissioned officer none the less! He wanted to voice his disbelief but was silenced when the major gave him a 'I'll answer any questions at the end' look.

"We do believe that their is civilisation beyond that pass, as the advanced team discovered what was a camp here." Damon motioned to the X labelled 'campsite'. "Whoever had set up the camp had long since packed up and left, by the time they found his or her trail, they would have entered the pass and be long gone. If you do stumble across them, avoid contact if you can. If you cannot, try to avoid combat unless absolutely necessary. I cannot overemphasise the fact another front is the last thing Gallia needs."

Ander nodded. Even though he had only just recovered from the shock of being promoted, he still recognised that the major was correct; though Gallia was not currently actively fighting against the Federation or the Imperials, the military had only just gotten back on their feet after the civil war and was still undergoing reforms.

"You're Squad will be made up of 6 squad members, including yourself, plus crew for an armoured car, and a driver for a logistics vehicle and a medic. Your squad mates have got some experience at the very least, with all of them having fought in the civil war. Though some of them are... interesting characters, while it's nothing that would cause them to lose their names, they have disagreed with COs." She said shifting through some of the dossiers she held. "I doubt that it will be much of a problem for you though."

Ander nodded; while soldiers acted disciplined around officers, other persons of importance and while on parade, they were still human and would have the strengths and weaknesses of a human, no matter how hard the drill Sargent tried.

"That's the good news, the bad news is command is unwilling to commit much in the way of resources to your squad. As a result your going to have make do with old equipment, Gallian-4s, MAG M4s, that sort of thing. The armoured car is a Bellicose AFV. It was put forward as a cheap alternative to the Type 36 light tank during the civil war. Some prototypes were made but it never went into full scale production as the brass decided that the resources would be better spent on the Type 36s, the brass believes that the prototypes are combat ready though."

"In other words they're giving us relics and hoping for the best." Ander sighed, before he realised that he had spoken out of turn, again. "Sorry."

"I would be more surprised if you didn't make a remark." The major rubbed her forehead. "With how things are, command can't afford to squander resources. Unfortunately they feel like the scouting mission doesn't need the best gear, just serviceable gear. Plus they're worried about kit falling into enemy hands."

Another logical countenance; while the town watch had only just held off the Plegian aggressors, it wasn't through a fault with the equipment, rather it was because of the lack of men and mechanised support. In addition if Plegia managed to get their hands on Gallia's latest weaponry it would be a disaster. Still, Ander felt slightly vexed that command was willing to risk soldiers' safety by under equipping them.

Major Damon brought him out of his mental rant. "Any questions?"

"No Sir." He answered. Though he honestly he wanted to question if it was a good idea to put him in charge of a important assignment.

The Major must of picked up on his thoughts because she spoke again. "I have faith in your abilities, 2nd Lieutenant. You've proven yourself competent and resourceful on multiple occasions in both the civil war and the empire's invasion, traits which are sorely needed in these trying time. Do not doubt yourself, understood."

"Yes Major."

The Major nodded. "Good, First Sargent Annabeth should have your new cold weather uniform, I'll see you at 0730 hours. Dismissed."

2nd Lieutenant Ander saluted before he exited the room before he closed the door behind him. He paused for a moment before he exhaled and allowed his shoulders to slump.

It undoubtedly felt like the weight of the world had been dropped onto his shoulders. This was a mission of critical importance, one false move, one error and it wouldn't just be Ander's career in the military that would be at risk. It didn't help that he was stepping into the unknown here; Plegia had attacked with dragons and magic, and then there was the mysterious unknown aggressors, who could withstand a inhuman amount of punishment and killed without remorse...

Ander looked out of one of headquarters windows. He was one man, one person, and yet the fate of Gallia may very well rest in his hands. Was the major right to believe that he could make those sorts of decisions?

A flash of blue in the corner of his vision caught his eye. A beautiful blue butterfly was resting on the windowsill, calm and tranquil, only opening its wings slightly. Ander didn't recognise its species, he wasn't like 2nd Lieutenant Gunther, but even he knew that it was a graceful thing.

Ander allowed himself to return to his thoughts as he absentmindedly watched the butterfly. Maybe he wasn't ready to take on such responsibilities, but then again was anybody? Then he realised that it was a case of being ready but understanding just how enormous this burden was and still undertaking it. He knew how much of an endeavour this assignment would be but he would still attempt to see it through to the end, for the sake of the people he wished to protect.

The butterfly opened its wings one last time before it flew into the blue sky.

 **Long time no see! Sorry about the delay but life and Uni happened! Anyway this chapter details the first aftershocks from Zarik's attack on Straban. Emmeryn's still alive and still has her memories but she's missing an arm, poor Emmeryn can't catch a break when even when she lives.**

 **Anyway I would do a follow, fav shoutout here but I lost most of the notifications. So just a big general shoutout to ya all.**

 **Before I go and disappear I'm going to answer Kamencolin's question: most of the action will be in the Fire emblem world though I am planning to set a few other chapters in Europa.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading! Please Fav or follow and leave reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


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